God rested from all His work on the seventh day of the week and set it apart, sanctified it, and declared it to be the holy day of rest to be observed perpetually as a memorial of His creation. Genesis 2:1-3; Exodus 20:8-11; Isaiah 58:13, 14. Thus, the Sabbath is the eternal sign of Christ s power as Creator, Sanctifier and Redeemer and is therefore the Lord s Day, the true Christian Sabbath. Exodus 31:13; Ezekiel 20:12; Mark 2:27-28. As such, it constitutes the seal of the Living God which is contained therein showing who and what God is, and the extent of His rulership, the entire universe that He created; and is observed from sunset Friday to sunset Sabbath, Genesis 1; Leviticus 23:32; Isaiah 66:22, 23; as Jesus did, Luke 4:16, e.g., and His disciples after His ascension. Acts 13:14, 42, 44; 16:13; 17:2; 18:4. The Sabbath is the keynote and memorial as to what makes us Free Seventhday Adventists, but how many of us truly understand the Sabbath and what it should mean to each of us as we see the final days approaching? The Sabbath was a critical part of Creation. God created it on purpose, not because He needed rest, but because He foresaw we, as human beings, would need a perpetual, constant reminder of Creation and our Creator. The Lord gave me a view of the heavenly sanctuary. The temple of God was opened in heaven, and I was shown the ark of God covered with the mercy seat. Two angels stood, one at each end of the ark, with their wings spread over the mercy seat, and their faces turned toward it. My accompanying angel informed me that these represented all the heavenly host looking with reverential awe toward the holy law which had been written by the finger of God. Jesus raised the cover of the ark, and I beheld the tables of stone on which the Ten Commandments were written. I was amazed as I saw the fourth commandment in the very center of the ten precepts, with a soft halo of light encircling it. Said the angel: It is the only one of the ten which defines the living God who created the heavens and the earth and all things that are therein. When the foundations of the earth were laid, then was laid the foundation of the Sabbath also. Page 1
I was shown that if the true Sabbath had always been kept, there would never have been an infidel or an atheist. The observance of the Sabbath would have preserved the world from idolatry. The fourth commandment has been trampled upon; therefore we are called upon to repair the breach in the law, and plead for the downtrodden Sabbath. The man of sin, who exalted himself above God, and thought to change times and laws, brought about the change of the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week. In doing this, he made a breach in the law of God. Just prior to the great day of God, a message is sent forth to warn the people to come back to their allegiance to the law of God which antichrist has broken down. By precept and example, attention must be called to the breach in the law. I was shown that the third angel, proclaiming the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, represents the people who receive this message and raise the voice of warning to the world, to keep the commandments of God as the apple of the eye, and that in response to this warning many would embrace the Sabbath of the Lord. Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 1, pg. 75 As part of the process, the Sabbath was never meant to be a one day occasion, contrary to popular opinion. It is a day that is to be remembered throughout the week as a constant reminder of who God is, and that we are to worship and obey Him every day of the week. By so remembering, not only do we recognize and remember God as our Creator, but we are also recognizing His sovereignty and are declaring our loyalty to Him. What, then, is the Sabbath? It is the memorial of the power of God manifested to the world through Jesus Christ, not only in the creation of the heaven and the earth, but in the re-creation of the individual. What, then, is Sabbath-keeping? It is Christian experience. What, then, is the Sabbath blessing? It is the blessing of sanctification by the power of God working through Jesus Christ. What, then, is Sabbath-keeping? It is the sign to the individual Christian of his own Christian experience. It is to him the measure of the working of that creative power of God in Jesus Christ, that he may be renewed in the image of God, that he may be made a perfect man in Christ Jesus. What, then, is Sabbath-keeping? It is the sign to the Christian that he trusts for salvation in the power that created all things. What, then, is Sabbath-keeping? It is the sign to the Christian that his Page 2
hope, his confidence, are entirely in Jesus Christ, who is the Creator and Redeemer. What, then, is Sabbath-keeping? It is the sign of his growth in Jesus Christ? What, then, is Sabbath-keeping? It is all and in all to the Christian. When it is understood what the Sabbath really is and what Sabbathkeeping is, there is not a person who desires Jesus Christ, there is not a person who longs for the blessings and the rest that there are in Jesus Christ, who would hesitate one moment as to what day it is. It is what it is rather than when it is that we must consider, because when we study what it is, we shall at the same time find out in the most emphatic way when it is. One day will do just as well as another in which to rest physically, but there is only one day on which we can keep Sabbath; there is only one day that has the blessing by the presence of Christ in this way. Come to the Sabbath blessing; come to Sabbath-keeping. W. W. Prescott, Christ and the Sabbath, pg. 26, 27 (1893) Merely going to church on Sabbath or resting on the Sabbath is not true Sabbath keeping. We must completely separate ourselves from the things of the world in our day to day life, in order to enter into the thoughts of God and renew our vows to do His will in all things. Isaiah 58:13, 14. It is a spiritual experience that we must enter in so that we may receive the blessing of the Sabbath. In addition, it is now not just a reminder of our Creator, but our Redeemer as well. The same authority, power, and ability are used in re-creation as in the original creation, and therefore, the Sabbath must, of necessity, serve both purposes at the same time. In fact, since October 22, 1844 we have been living in the last day of prophetic time, the Antitypical Day of Atonement. In the type, the Day of Atonement was treated as a Sabbath with four basic requirements that must be kept without the punishment of being cut off applied. It was a holy convocation, the day being treated as a Sabbath; no work was to be performed; the soul was to be afflicted; and they were to offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. Leviticus 23:27-30, 32. That has not changed in the antitype. Every day is now a Sabbath, every seventh day, The High Sabbath. We are to offer ourselves upon the altar of the Lord allowing His holy fire to consume away the dross in our lives and purify us to be able to live in God s holy fire in heaven. Romans 12:1, 2. We are to afflict our Page 3
souls, crucifying the flesh, Galatians 2:20, allowing the character of Christ to be formed within, the hope of glory, Colossians 1:26, 27; and we are to do no work, that is try to work for our salvation. Hebrews 4:1-11. Christ has already done the work. We are to work only as He directs us through the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to live His life in and through us. Our light burden, as stated by Jesus in Matthew 11:28-30, is to be and remain unreservedly surrendered to Him moment by moment, day by day. That is our spiritual duty, our spiritual responsibility in honor of God and His Holy Sabbath. All through the week we are to have the Sabbath in mind and be making preparation to keep it according to the commandment. We are not merely to observe the Sabbath as a legal matter. We are to understand its spiritual bearing upon all the transactions of life. All who regard the Sabbath as a sign between them and God, showing that He is the God who sanctifies them, will represent the principles of His government. They will bring into daily practice the laws of His kingdom. Daily it will be their prayer that the sanctification of the Sabbath may rest upon them. Every day they will have the companionship of Christ and will exemplify the perfection of His character. Ellen G. White, Testimonies to the Church, Volume 6, pg. 353-354 No matter what we have to meet, what opposition, what efforts to turn souls away from the truth of heavenly origin, we must give publicity to our faith, that honest souls may see and hear and be convinced for themselves. Our work is to say as did Philip, Come and see. We must not put our light under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that it may give light to all that are in the house. We hold no doctrine that we wish to hide. To those have been educated to keep the first day of the week as a sacred day, the most objectionable feature of our faith is the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. But does not God's word declare that the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God? and although it is not an easy matter to make the required change from the first to the seventh day, this change must be made. It involves a cross; it clashes with the precepts and practices of men. Learned men have taught the people till they are full of unbelief and prejudice; and yet we must say to these people, Come and see. God requires us to proclaim the truth, and let it discover error. Page 4
The third angel is represented as following the first and second angels, and crying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation.... Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. Shall not we who read these threatenings, and who believe the word of God, give the warning to a world lying in darkness? The angels are represented as flying in the midst of heaven, uttering a solemn proclamation. Their voices are not heard by the inhabitants of earth, save through the people who carry forward the work as the messengers of God. Those who search the Scriptures understand the messages given by the angels, and take up the cry, proclaiming the warning to the world. The three messages for this time are of most solemn import, and it is of the greatest consequence to those who hear whether or not they act upon the light given. God calls upon his faithful watchmen who see the danger, to lift up the cry, The morning cometh, and also the night. It is the work of every soul who understands Bible truth for this time, to unite, his voice with the messengers in proclaiming the message, in pushing the triumphs of the cross. The truth must be presented in its simplicity, and laid out in clear lines. We are in no case to hide our light under a bushel, as if ashamed of it. We have nothing of which to be ashamed; the commandments of God are to be honored above the traditions and commandments of men. Ellen G. White, Review and Herald, July 7, 1891 Simultaneously, the Sabbath commandment, the one that the majority of the world refuses to honor or obey, is the one that contains God s identity as Creator and Sovereign of all that is, His right and authority to rule and reign in our lives, and His power to redeem. Throw out the 4 th Commandment, as so many have done, and you throw away any hope of redemption or sanctification, of which the Sabbath Commandment is the seal. Exodus 31:13; Ezekiel 20:12. And we have to have it right as the Sabbath and worship is at the crux of the great controversy that is about to come to an end. Clearly, we are commanded in the First Angel s Message that we are to fear God, and give glory to Him and worship Him that made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is. Revelation 14:7. For the Page 5
warning is given to all that if they worship the beast or his image, or have his mark (the false Sabbath Sunday worship), then they will be destroyed. Revelation 14:9-11. The Sabbath given to the world as the sign of God as the Creator is also the sign of Him as the Sanctifier. The power that created all things is the power that re-creates the soul in His own likeness. To those who keep holy the Sabbath day it is the sign of sanctification. True sanctification is harmony with God, oneness with Him in character. It is received through obedience to those principles that are the transcript of His character. And the Sabbath is the sign of obedience. He who from the heart obeys the fourth commandment will obey the whole law. He is sanctified through obedience. To us as to Israel the Sabbath is given for a perpetual covenant. To those who reverence His holy day the Sabbath is a sign that God recognizes them as His chosen people. It is a pledge that He will fulfill to them His covenant. Every soul who accepts the sign of God s government places himself under the divine, everlasting covenant. He fastens himself to the golden chain of obedience, every link of which is a promise. Ellen G. White, Testimonies to the Church, Volume 6, pg. 349-350 That is, knowing that our sanctification is the will of God (1Thessalonians 4:3; 5:23, 24), we learn, by means of the Sabbath, properly used, what the power of God is that is exerted for our sanctification. The same power that was put forth to create the worlds is put forth for the sanctification of those who yield themselves to the will of God. Surely this thought, when fully grasped, must bring joy and comfort in God to the earnest soul. In the light of this, we can appreciate the force of Isaiah 58:13, 14: If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words; then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. That is, if the Sabbath is kept according to God s plan, as a memorial of His creative power, as bringing to mind the Page 6
Divine power that is put forth for the salvation of His people, the soul, triumphing in the work of His hands, must delight itself in the Lord. And so the Sabbath is the grand fulcrum for the lever of faith, which lifts the soul to the heights of God s throne, to hold communion with Him. To put the matter in few words, it may be stated thus: The eternal power and Godhead of the Lord are revealed in creation. Romans 1:20. It is the ability to create that measures the power of God. But the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Romans 1:16. Therefore the Gospel simply reveals to us the power which was used to bring the worlds into existence, now exerted for the salvation of men. It is the same power in each case. In the light of this great truth, there is no room for the controversy about redemption being greater than creation, because redemption is creation. See 2Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:24. The power of redemption is the power of creation; the power of God unto salvation is the power which can take human nothingness and make of it that which shall be throughout eternal ages to the praise of the glory of the grace of God. E.J. Waggoner, Christ and His Righteousness, pg. 37-38. Some have thought and reasoned like this: A day is a day-one is as good as another; and if I keep one day as I should, it makes no difference what day it is. Such reasoning is utterly fallacious. We ought to know that God requires obedience to his word. When God says, Keep the seventh day holy, it is for us to obey; and to keep no day at all would be better than to mock him with a substitute. If we are not willing to obey him, he would choose to have us make no pretensions of it. I would thou wert either cold or hot. Revelation 3:15. Now when we see that the first-day sabbath is set up as a rival of the Sabbath of the Lord; that it was established by the man of sin, and is the mark of his name, or of his authority to change the law of God; none can fail to see that it makes a vast difference which day we keep. It is no wonder that the unmingled wrath of God is to be poured out upon those, who, knowing his will, choose in preference to obey the beast. Reader, which will you choose? God is calling upon you to choose whether you will keep his commandments and receive his seal, or obey his rival, the beast and receive his mark. He is warning you of the awful consequences of the latter. The great day of his wrath is just before us, and we need a shield in that day. The destroying angel is about to pass through; Page 7
the men with the slaughter weapons are about to smite; the four winds are about to be loosed; and nothing but God's token, mark or seal, will cause the destroyer to pass over us. See Exodus 12:13; Ezekiel 9; Revelation 7:1-4. Already has the angel ascended from the east, having the seal of the living God. The sealing message that of the third angel is being proclaimed. The time has come for the fulfillment of the prophetic message of Isaiah 8:16. Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. The beast, the changer of times and laws, has broken God's testimony, and it must be behind up: he has turn the seal (the Sabbath) from the law, and it must be restored; and while the angel with the seal of the living God passes through, the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads, while at the same time the seal is restored to the law among those servants or disciples. O, heed the warning voice which God in his great mercy is sending forth. Forsake the commandments of the beast, and keep the commandments of God. Receive the seal of God in your forehead. Keep all the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Roswell F. Cottrell, Mark of the Beast, Seal of the Living God, pg. 15, 16. Shortly after the giving of the first angel's message, the sealing work brought to view in chapter seven was begun. The glory shining from the law of God, enables angels to place the seal of God on the foreheads of those who obey the everlasting Gospel. But a counter sealing goes on at the same time. As Jehovah recognizes in the lives of His people the reflection of the law of His own eternal throne and the seal, His name or mark which is His Sabbath, so he who has, from the beginning, striven to thwart the Gospel of Jesus, has a seal of his own which gives his name, his title, and his dominion over which he rules. He who opposeth and exalteth himself above God, puts his seal in the place of the seal of the King of heaven. The image to the beast enforces the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, instead of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. The fourth commandment is the only one of the Decalogue that the papacy has really thought to change, and those who in the face of light and truth, choose to keep the first day of the week as a Sabbath, are obeying the power that has "thought himself able to change times and the law," just as truly as those receive the seal of God, who take up their cross and keep holy the Sabbath of Jehovah, the seventh day of the week. The law which is passed Page 8
compelling men to receive the mark of the beast, will give life to the image of the beast, and the prophecy of Revelation 13:15-17 will be a reality For six thousand years, God has pleaded with man to accept salvation. In the close of earth's history, the everlasting Gospel is preached with renewed power, and all are given an opportunity to stand with God or with the enemy. Those who accept Jehovah as King are sealed, and fill the ranks of the one hundred and forty-four thousand. S. N. Haskell, Story of the Seer of Patmos, pg. 259-260 Sunday keeping is an institution of the first beast, and all who submit to obey this institution emphatically worship the first beast, and receive his MARK, "\ THE MARK of the beast. This is the very identical thing, wherein the two horned beast has caused the earth and them that dwell therein to worship the first beast, and to receive his mark. The truth of God declares it and history shows its fulfillment. And I pity the man who disregards it. For if ANY MAN worship the beast or his image, or receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation, etc. A few short months from this, and the warning notes of the sealing angel will die away, and God will set His broad seal upon this truth, by pouring out the vials of His wrath, upon those who have the mark of the beast, and upon them which worship his image. Then they will be compelled to confess this truth which they now spurn and trample under foot, viz: that Sunday keeping is the mark and worship of the beast, and that the Holy Sabbath truth is the sign, seal or mark of the living God. The message of the third angel is the last to the little flock, to prepare them for the time of trouble. When this message is finished, the four winds will be loosed. This angel is the same as the one in Chapter 7 [of Revelation], having the seal (or mark, as it is called in Ezekiel 9:4-6) of the living God. His work is to seal (or mark) the servants of God in their foreheads. Seal, mark and forehead are figurative language in these texts. See Chapter 17:5 [of Revelation]; Ezekiel 3:8, 9. All must see that forehead in these texts refers to a prominent developement of character, and that the mark in the forehead means the most prominent characteristic mark in the lives, profession, or conduct of those referred to Page 9
The third angel is raising his loud and warning voice against worshipping the beast, or receiving his mark, and has he no mark to administer? Yes, he has the seal [or mark] of the living God. What is it? Keeping the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. Revelation 14:12. Why is it said HERE are they that keep the commandments of God? Evidently because one of them had been cast down to the ground, and trodden under foot for more than 1200 years. And although the other nine had been kept, yet it could not be said that they were keeping THE COMMANDMENTS, because it is written, For whosoever shall keep the whole law, but shall fail with respect to ONE PRECEPT, hath become guilty of all. [Campbell.] James 2:10. Therefore the trodden down commandment must be restored and kept, before it can be said, HERE are they that keep the COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. Nine of them are universally admitted to be in full force, and binding upon mankind. And there is no particular cross, or test of faith in admitting or confessing them. The veriest worldling will do this. But the cross and test is, in confessing and obeying the trodden down Holy Sabbath commandment. God has always had a present test truth for his church to believe, which was the sealing, saving truth of the time then present. In the days of the apostles, it was the present sealing truth to believe that Jesus Christ had come in the flesh, and had suffered and had rise again from the dead, etc. See 2Corinthians1:22; Ephesians 1:13, 14; 4:30; 2Peter 1,12. Then come down to the proclamation of 1843, the hour of God's judgment, the fall of Babylon and the Midnight cry. These were the then PRESENT saving truths, and the world by rejecting them sealed their own damnation. And think you that the third angel has no testing, sealing truth? strange indeed if he has not. What then, could be the object of his message? Some tell us that they have no objection to our believing, and obeying the Sabbath commandment, if we will not make it a test of salvation. I ask what would be the object of teaching this truth, if there was no salvation in it? It is the last testing sealing truth that will ever be offered to mortals, and all who reject it will speedily drink the wine of God Almighty's wrath. Page 10
So far as the third angel's message has been proclaimed, it is known that the burden of the message has been to restore the down trodden Sabbath commandment. This is the most prominent characteristic mark of those who are proclaiming the present truth. It is the seal or mark of the living God. But some require a thus saith the Lord, that the Sabbath is the seal. They might with equal propriety require the same of every sealing truth that has ever been proclaimed to man. But thank heaven, we have got a thus saith the Lord for the Sabbath seal. He has said by his prophet, Isaiah 8:16, speaking of the present crisis, Bind up the testimony, SEAL [or ratify] THE LAW among my disciples. " James White, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, September 1850 Now, just as the presence of Christ at the burning bush made the ground holy, just as the presence of Christ with Joshua made the ground holy, just as the presence of Christ on Mount Sinai made that ground holy, so the presence of Christ, which constitutes the seventh day a rest day, which makes it a Sabbath, a spiritual rest, makes that day holy. And just as there was a particular portion of the ground made holy in all these other cases, just so there was a particular portion of time made holy. The children of Israel could go about their own pursuits; they could walk about as usual outside of that boundary, but the one who treated that mount, thus marked off, the same as he treated other portions of the surrounding country, forfeited his life. It is none the less true to-day that the presence of Jesus Christ has made holy a particular portion of time, the seventh day, the Sabbath, and so the scripture says: If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day. Isaiah 58:13. It is none the less true that man may go about as usual, may attend to his usual avocations on six days of the week, but when he comes to that boundary line which marks off the time that Christ has made holy by his own presence in it, if he knowingly steps over that line, and treats that time just as he treats the other time, he does it at the risk of his own life. It is true that because sentence against an evil work is not speedily executed, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil, but this does not lessen the force of the conclusion. The Lord has indicated his mind in this matter, and Page 11
he will give every man according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings. It is the presence of Christ that makes holy, and His presence has been put into a particular portion of time in a special manner, and that portion of time has been bounded off, separate and distinct from other portions of time. When the children of Israel came up to the boundary of Sinai, they knew it. God did not leave them in ignorance of the boundary line between the common and the sacred. God has not left us in ignorance. He has appointed means that we may know when we come up to that portion of time which He has made holy by His own presence in it, and by His own blessing upon it. But just as the presence of Christ at Sinai made that mount holy, just as His presence in the Sabbath makes that holy, just so the presence of Christ in the individual makes him holy. The Sabbath was designed as a constant reminder of the work of God through Christ in redemption. Without holiness no man shall see the Lord. We are commanded, Be ye holy, for I am holy. But we cannot make ourselves holy. There is one thing that always makes holy, and that is the presence of Jesus Christ. When Christ dwells in our hearts by faith, we are made holy by his presence, and this is the blessing of Sabbath-keeping. That is Christian experience; that is the Christian life. When Christ dwells in the heart by faith, he by his presence makes the believer holy. W. W., Prescott, Christ and the Sabbath, pg. 18-20 (1893) See also, Bible Readings for the Home Circle, 1914 Edition: Institution Of The Sabbath; God s Memorial; Reasons For Sabbath- Keeping; Manner Of Observing The Sabbath; Christ And The Sabbath; The Sabbath In The New Testament; The Change Of The Sabbath; The Seal Of God And The Mark Of Apostasy; The Lord s Day; Walking As He Walked; The Sabbath In History; and Sabbath Reform. Page 12